Maritime commerce is absolutely essential to the viability of the United States economy. More than 95% of our foreign trade passes through our nation's 361 sea ports. Unfortunately, the majority of these ports and the ships that use them are quite susceptible to terrorist attacks that could result in massive loss of life and significant economic disruption. In addition, ports are also the location of considerable drug trafficking, illegal immigration and cargo theft.
In response to the increased threats to maritime commerce posed by terrorism and other criminal activities, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted various amendments in December of 2002 to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention. These amendments, known as the International Ship and Port-Facility Security (ISPS) Code, now have the sanction of the International Community and will have the force of law in the United States upon their effective date of Jul. 1, 2004. In addition, the United States Congress has passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 (46 USC 2101) which was signed into law by the President in November of 2002. This Public Law serves as a compliment to the ISPS Code adopted by the IMO one month later.
Two weeks after the ISPS code was adopted by the IMO, the United States Attorney General's Data Management Improvement Act Task Force published its first annual report to the Congress. The Task Force was created to evaluate how the flow of traffic at United States airports, seaports and land border ports-of-entry can be improved while enhancing security, improving coordination between agencies and governments, and implementing systems for data collection and data sharing. The Task Force's first report focuses primarily on recommendations for an entry/exit system for personnel and cargo into and out of United States seaports.
The ISPS code, the MTSA and the Task Force report all mandate or otherwise recommend that all seaports in the United States and all ships using such ports adhere to a number of security-related requirements and to use automation and biometrics as a means to facilitate such security without unduly affecting the flow of commerce. Those requirements include a uniform, comprehensive system of identification of ship crew members (seafarers), a means to identify current passengers, a means to identify port facility personnel, a means to identify legitimate port contractors and other visitors, the issuance or recognition of permanent and temporary passes, positive control of personnel and vehicle access to restricted areas, checking and verification of cargo documentation, prevention of cargo theft and tampering, and inventory control of cargo.
Thus, what is now needed is a fully integrated system for automation of sea port security operations that integrates the collection of personnel data for all persons and vehicles entering a port, the collection of ship, vehicle and cargo tracking information, and the authentication of various identification, registration, and manifest documents. Such as system should also screen all personnel and cargo data for discrepancies that indicate fraud, theft, or a threat. The system as proposed herein is intended to dramatically facilitate improvements in maritime security while at the same time minimizing the effects of such security improvements on the normal flow of maritime commerce.